AK: Keeping the Faith

This week on AK, we’re Keeping the Faith. We’ll visit the Mt. Bether Bible Center, a farm community outside Hoonah, and check into the turmoil in the Russian Orthodox Church. Sing along with Anchorage’s multicultural church choirs, dip into a little Zen, and ask, when it comes to Passover, why is this state different from all other states? All that and more this week on AK, heard statewide on local APRN stations statewide.

Mt. Bether Bible Center
Mt. Bether Bible Center, a cousin to the Dry Creek community near Dot Lake, and Covenant Life out of Haines, was founded in Southeast Alaska in 1975. Since then, the farm community has been home to more than 300 people and countless animals. AK’s Scott Burton stayed on the farm and was shown around by community president Bob Clark, and his wife, Judy.

Klukwan Beliefs
Klukwan elder Joe Hotch says teaching children a strong belief system is an important part of Tlingit culture. He shares one particular story with Ann Kaiser.

Break: “Losing My Religion” performed by Pickin’ On Series from Pickin’ On R.E.M.: The Bluegrass Tribute

Passover on the Last Frontier
Just around the corner is the Jewish holiday of Passover, commemorating the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, and liberation from slavery. AK host Rebecca Sheir explores Passover traditions around the state – from halibut gefilte fish in Homer to do-it-yourself seders in Bethel.

Music Button: “Dayenu” performed by Gary Lucas from Busy Being Born

Anchorage Zen Community
For nearly 25 years, the Anchorage Zen Community has been offering silent meditation sittings, book discussion groups, even a film series. Anchorage writer Jonathan Bower’s renewed interested in silent meditation recently brought him back to the group, in its new home, where he met its new resident priest, Koun Franz.

Faith-Based Initiatives
The Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was established in 2005. Michael Curran is a project coordinator there. He told AK’s Scott Burton that much of his job involves connecting different groups so they can share resources to provide services. One initiative links Anchorage’s homeless population with a wide array of resources.

Russian Orthodox Turmoil
In mid-March, the highest leader in Alaska’s Russian Orthodox Church, Bishop Nikolai, was asked to voluntarily step down while church leaders back east investigated complaints against him. Since then, he’s been removed from his post, and reinstated again. Ralph Gibbs of the Kodiak Daily Mirror has been watching the issue closely; he speaks with AK host Rebecca Sheir.

Music Button: “Kt” by Bexar Bexar from Haralambos

Multicultural Choirs
In the Roman Catholic Church, music has long had a place in the liturgy. The American Catholic Bishops even have guidelines for a choir’s part in the Mass celebration – though they don’t specify how the choir’s music is culturally expressed. On a recent Sunday, AK’s Ellen Lockyer attended Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Benedict’s to hear some of Anchorage’s faithful lift their voices, and their spirits.

Calendar of Events (“Leap of Faith” performed by Pickin’ On Series from Pickin’ On Big & Rich: A Bluegrass Tribute, Vol. 2)

Poetry Out Loud: Continued
For National Poetry Month, we’re airing selections from the statewide “Poetry Out Loud” recitation contest. Today: John McCullough of Petersburg High School, with Edgar Allen Poe’s “Alone,” and Juneau Douglas High School’s Scott Schuler, with “Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare.